Penn Station Plagued with Hours of Amtrak Delays on New Year’s Eve

By:  Benyamin Davidsons

Commuters experienced massive rail delays on Sunday Morning in Penn Station, putting a damper on their holiday travel plans.  Per the NY Post, the Manhattan rail station, which is just blocks away from the Big Apple New Years Eve ball drop, saw disappointing slowdowns, with Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor announcing service delays of several hours due to “server/signal issues,” the railroad said in an X post at about 8 a.m.  Most of the delays and service disruptions seemed to affect the Northeast Corridor trains, but also extended to Keystone Service and Empire Service, per NBC.

Amtrak warned passengers that a number of their trains may be delayed up to two hours. As reported by the NY Post, the technical problems also led to the cancellation of three Acela trains, which offers Business Class and First Class seating instead of Coach.  Additionally, NJ Transit also suspended trains traveling between Trenton and New York, and some trains headed to and from Philadelphia were also held.  By Sunday at noontime, both railroads said service was back on track, but they warned delays would continue throughout the day.

The rail delays came as an estimated one million people were expected in Midtown Manhattan’s Times Square in the evening for the country’s largest New Year’s eve bash and the ball drop.  Commuters had been encouraged to leave their cars at home and to use mass transit, especially as they may be drinking.

Per the Post, among the stranded and waiting commuters was Chris Carver, who works in real estate.  The 26-year-old was going to Boston to celebrate the New Year there but was stuck waiting at Penn’s Moynihan Train Hall for over four hours.  Carver told the Post he takes Amtrak once or twice a week, but had “never been delayed on a train before.”  “I mean, in New York these days there’s always something going on. Something getting delayed or cancelled. It is what it is,” he said.  “The big point of New Year’s Eve is midnight, right? I guess if this was closer to midnight I would be upset.”

Other commuters also expressed their dismay regarding the delays.  Michael Chrencik, 27, and his friend were drinking at the station bar ten minutes before their train was scheduled to depart, after having been delayed an hour already.  The friends were skeptical that the newly announced time would be on time either. “A train just boarded that was scheduled for 6:00 a.m. We found a guy from Amtrak and said, ‘There’s no way this train leaves in ten minutes, right?’ He just shook his head and walked away. The train’s not leaving anytime soon,” Chrencik said.  “My problem is the lack of communication. When we showed up we didn’t see the train on the board, had no idea what was going on. Airlines are sh#ty, but at least when you’re at the airport, the airline is telling you everything.”

He added, “You’d think a government-funded rail program would run better…actually, now that I say that out loud, maybe not.”

Spokespersons for the transit agencies commented saying that most service was restored before 12 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.